A Life In the Day
by Anath Tsurugi
Summary: Companion piece to my Winter Soldier trilogy. A collection of one-shots, little moments in the lives of the Avengers family. Day Four: In which Zasha Romanova learns something important and Phillip Stark turns out not to be a complete ass.
1. The Birds and the Bees

(A/N) Well, I talked about writing this one shot collection and now I'm finally doing it. So yes, this is a companion piece to my Winter Soldier trilogy, and it's just going to contain snippets from the lives of the Avengers family that are fun, cute, angsty, all manner of stuff, but that don't necessarily tie into the main story line. As a start, I've decided to show you all the circumstances surrounding the births of the other Avengers offspring, since you already got to see the births of the first four in To Have and To Hold.

**A Life In the Day**

_Chapter 1: The Birds and the Bees_

**Chase**

In truth, Darcy Lewis had known she was pregnant nearly a month before the assault on the 2R compound. The moment she'd announced it to an elevator full of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Asgardians before rushing headlong into battle had simply been the moment she'd gathered up enough guts to tell the two people it mattered to: Sif and Fandral.

She and Fandral had parted ways amicably about three months after Steve and Bucky had gotten engaged. They had never been a truly serious item, more of a friends with benefits type situation. Somehow, though, she felt certain that their last time together had been when the baby was conceived.

Sif had started off much the same way Fandral had…a friend with benefits. Sif hadn't been with many people in her life, preferring to focus on honing her skills in battle, so it had been a hard won victory for Darcy…and after those first few times, it had somehow started to become serious. Darcy wasn't the jealous type. She had often joined her previous partners in eyeing a particularly attractive piece of male or female ass, but it was different with Sif. She felt a twinge of the green monster whenever the warrior woman would admire another Asgardian, desiring for Sif to look only at her. It was strange. She'd only ever been truly serious about one other person and that had ended badly just before she'd started on the internship that had changed her life.

Not only was Darcy jealous, but she found she missed Sif terribly when she was back in Asgard and could hardly wait for the times when she would come to visit, or when she herself could get the time off to make the journey to Asgard. She had never made the trip for any of the other Asgardians she'd ever been with…no one except for Sif. Neither did she admit to the Asgardian just how serious her feelings were, for fear of driving her away.

She didn't think much of it that first month when she skipped her period. A random skip had happened a time or two before without consequence. She was happy with Sif and hadn't been thinking about much else. She might have noticed it sooner when she skipped the second month, but that had been around the time when the whole business with HYDRA and 2R had begun, and her thoughts had been otherwise occupied. As Jane drew closer and closer to giving birth to her baby, though, Darcy had started to get suspicious, but it wasn't until Mimir made his offhand comment about mothering instincts that she finally got the nerve to take a pregnancy test, only to confirm what she had already known. She was going to have a baby…_Fandral's_ baby.

It probably wasn't the wisest decision, to go into battle the day of the assault, but it would have seemed strange to them for her to _not_ go…and it had given her the chance to spring the news on them. Of course, there hadn't been time for discussion at the moment, as fighting was imminent, and then she had to go and get herself hit by a HYDRA bullet, sending Sif into a rage. Once the fighting was over, the Asgardian had immediately carried her to one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. medics Fury had sent in; and when it was confirmed neither she nor the baby was in immediate danger, the warrior woman had fallen into a sullen silence, leaving Darcy to worry about their future. The three didn't have a chance to talk until they'd arrived back at the Helicarrier.

"How long have you known?" Sif asked her.

"A few weeks."

"And how far along are you?"

"About three months, I think."

Sif looked up at her then, a look of pale hope shining in her eyes. "So you and Fandral…you didn't…you did not…while we've been-"

"No!" both she and Fandral insisted at once.

"I have not been with Darcy since we ended things," Fandral swore. "I see the way you care for her, Sif. You are my friend and I would never do anything to hurt you. What was between us is ended, on my honor as a warrior."

"I think it…probably happened that last time…and there's been so much going on recently, I didn't…it just sort of snuck up on me."

"So…what does Midgardian protocol dictate be done at this point?" Sif asked, looking slightly nervous.

"Well…used to be my dad would force Fandral to marry me at shotgun point, but we're doing a little better these days. Really, I think my dad would be happy I'm having a kid at all."

"But you are not…required to be with him?" Sif pressed.

"Not if I don't want to, no…and I don't," she rushed to reassure her lover when she saw fear flare up in her eyes. "Sif, you're…more than just a girlfriend to me. I'm…actually very serious about you. I think I might…want to be with you for the rest of my life…if you catch my meaning," Darcy said haltingly, realizing that she'd sort of revealed her true feelings for Sif without really meaning to. For what felt like several moments, they all sat in silence, Darcy fearing she might have just ended their relationship and Sif still trying to catch her breath after having her one wish so suddenly granted.

"I…take your meaning, Darcy. I am also…serious…about you. In fact, I had feared you were not…serious about me…and I didn't know what I would do if your eyes started to wander elsewhere."

"Well, I almost dislike saying that I told you so, Sif, but I did," Fandral said somewhat smugly, but he was largely ignored as the two women embraced each other, pressing fierce kisses to each other's lips. Just when Fandral was feeling he probably ought to leave, though, he heard Darcy speaking.

"What happens in Asgard…when something like this happens?"

"The child will be raised as the child of Sif and Darcy…but will always be recognized as _my_ firstborn in court. If I have no other children, all that is mine will pass to this child. Whether you want me…involved or not…is up to you," Fandral explained.

"Well, of _course_ you should be involved. The kid _is_ yours," Darcy said, offering him a wry grin…and when Chase Han Lewis was born early about five months later, Fandral had the honor of giving him his Asgardian name: Bjorn…Bjorn Fandralson.

**Phillip**

The assault on the 2R compound had been over only about a week when Pepper pulled Tony away from a project he was working on with Bruce and dragged him to their room. Tony wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the fact that Pepper now had the strength to drag him wherever she wanted, even after nearly two years of it. It could get interesting in the bedroom sometimes, but there were also times when Tony was legitimately afraid of Pepper. Now was just such a time.

"What did I do this time?" he asked as she pushed him onto their bed. At first, he was confused and indignant, but when Pepper started to pace before the bed and rub her temples in frustration, he started to get worried. "What's wrong?"

"There's no easy way to tell you this and there's no point in dancing around it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm pregnant."

For several moments, the pair just stared at each other, Tony taking that time to process what he'd just heard and Pepper fearing what he might say.

"Do…do you want it?" Tony finally made himself ask, trying not to make the situation about him, as he still had no idea how he felt about it.

At first, Pepper looked like she might scream, but managed to tone it down a little for the words that followed. "Of _course_ I want it, Tony. What kind of question is that? That _would_ be the first question you ask," she snarled, plopping down beside him on the bed. "I just…have no idea if _you_ want it."

"Hon…you and me would make one beautiful kid," he started, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I just…don't know if I'd make any kind of decent father."

Scared. That would be how he felt about this. Maybe a little happy…a little excited…but overall…scared. Scared out of his mind. What did _he_ know about being a dad? What if he wound up exactly like his own father and let loose another fucked up Stark billionaire on the world? He didn't think he could handle that.

"You're a better man than you know, you moron," she said quietly, leaning into his embrace. "You're not your father. You're you. Maybe you're not the textbook definition of a good father, but you've never been textbook anything, Tony Stark. You'd make a _great_ dad. That isn't what I was asking, though. Your inadequacy issues don't really concern me. What I want to know is…do _you_ want to have a baby with _me?_" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yes," he answered right away, not really having to think about that part of the equation. Before he could say anything else, though, Pepper started to cry, burying her face in his chest. Once again, Tony found himself confused and a little floored. "What is it? Did I say something wrong?"

"Tony…I'm _scared._ You…you said that Extremis…changed my genetic code…right?"

"Something like that, yeah. It's a little more complicated, but-" he started to explain, not immediately making the connection.

"What if that gets passed to this baby? Would a baby be able to _handle_ that? What if it's too much? What if our baby _dies?_" she sobbed. "I don't…think I could take that…again."

"Again?" Tony repeated, making the connection quicker this time, even though he for once found a small sense of security in playing ignorance. "What do you mean _again?_"

"Tony…when…when Killian injected me with Extremis…I was pregnant."

_Oh, God…_

"I wasn't…very far…maybe a month. I didn't get the chance to find out. The…the rewriting process…it killed the baby."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked, holding her a little tighter.

"I was afraid…of what you might say…and I wasn't sure if I ever _could_ get pregnant again. I didn't want to think about…what it would mean if we'd lost that chance forever. Everything was just happening so _fast_ back then…and then Bucky and Loki showed up…so I just kept on not telling you."

"You know what?" Tony started, soothingly stroking her hair. "We are just not gonna worry about any of this bullshit. You're gonna be a mom…and I'm gonna be a dad…and we're just gonna focus on that and nothing else."

"But…what if the baby _does_ have Extremis?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now…let's go tell the others we'll be adding one more to the Avengers daycare center."

XxX

Pepper's suspicions, unfortunately, did turn out to be right. Tony had JARVIS keep a constant eye on Pepper and the baby and by the three month mark, it became apparent that the markers for the Extremis code were present in their growing child. The only person they could really turn to was Sinthea Schmidt, as the Extremis code was very similar in principle to the super soldier serum she'd created from Abraham Erskine's original formula.

Tony's first request had been that Sinthea rewrite the code, which she flat out refused to do, as there was no telling what effect that might have on the child, or if it would even survive such a process. The best she could do was stabilize the baby whenever it got too hot. There was no danger to Pepper, certainly, just some mild discomfort. The true task was to make sure the Extremis in its system didn't simply tear the developing child apart. It was a grueling pregnancy, but worth it in the end when Pepper gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy, whom she insisted on naming Phillip.

Tony was always adamant about the fact that he didn't like to be handed things, but it was different the day Phillip was born. He didn't protest when the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor handed him his baby son. He just stood, still as a statue, while he watched the boy wriggle around in his arms.

"Wow," he mumbled, at a loss for words for perhaps only the second time in his life. His moment of fatherly wonder, though, was cut short when Phillip's skin began to burn hot.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he started, quickly passing Phillip to his mother. "I think this is your arena."

Briefly, Pepper looked worried, but the mothering instinct quickly kicked in and she began to rock her son, soothing him with whispers and hums as she offered him her breast.

"It's all right, baby. Everything's going to be all right," she soothed, and before long, the little boy's body heat had settled to something a little more regular and he was feeding contentedly from his mother.

That was really the only issue they had with the Extremis. By the time Phillip was two, his body had pretty well stabilized. In the classic tradition of fathers everywhere, Tony had simply needed to pass their son to his mama whenever he couldn't stand the heat.

**Noelle**

Bruce Banner had taken a great deal of convincing in the department of baby making. It had been a huge step forward when he was able to control the Other Guy enough for he and Betty to sleep together again, but he was at first adamant that they not have children, as he was afraid of passing on the curse in his genes to an innocent child. Betty Ross was patient, though, and knew just how badly Bruce wanted to be a father. If she could wait long enough, she just might be able to convince him to see things her way.

Perhaps his adopting Shanta after the incident with 2R had been a way to curb her desire to be a mother. Indeed, they were both very happy to have the nine-year-old, difficult as she could sometimes be after her conditioning at the hands of Grigori Dreykoff and 2R. It didn't really change much, though. It only made her desire stronger. It also seemed to her that it would be good for Shanta to have siblings. She knew Bruce agreed with her, even though he tried to pretend he didn't.

The decision was made for them the night of Steve and Bucky's wedding, though. It was a very amorous and alcohol-infused type of evening, and all the couples who could had wound up shacking up for the evening. Bruce had sworn after the fact that they'd used a condom, but if true, the only explanation was that it had broken, because Betty was late that month, and Bruce was horrified when she came back from the doctor with an ultrasound.

"Betty, we…we can't do this," he tried to argue. "What if it…what if it turns out like _me?_"

"And what if it _doesn't?_" Betty pushed right back. "You don't know if it will be passed on. For all we know, we'll be the parents of a perfectly normal, healthy, happy baby."

"Or we could just as easily be the parents of a baby Hulk. Would your body even be able to handle that? Betty, I…I won't be able to _live_ with myself…if this kills you."

"We won't be able to live with ourselves if we don't at least _try_, Bruce. I can see you want this just as much as I do. Why won't you let yourself have it?"

"Because it's not just _me_ I'm concerned about. I can't afford to be that selfish. Your own health not withstanding…do we have any right to force what I am on a helpless _baby?_ What kind of father would that make me?"

"You're _already_ a wonderful father, and if it happens…that you _do_ pass it on, well…you learned to control it. We could teach our child to do that, too."

"It can't always be controlled, though."

"What's wrong with that?" Shanta's voice suddenly entered the room. Both of them looked up to see her standing in the doorway.

"Shanta-"

"What's wrong with a baby like you?" Shanta repeated before he could say anything. "There's nothing wrong with you. It's like…saying there's something wrong with _me._ Is there something wrong with me?"

Bruce sighed heavily at the hurt look in her eyes. Immediately, he went to kneel before her. "No, little tiger, of _course_ not. I only meant-"

"Then it shouldn't matter. It isn't the baby's fault. Why punish the baby?"

"What do you think, tiger?" Betty asked before Bruce could argue further. "Do you want to be a big sister?"

Shanta smiled shyly at this. "Well…Aiden and Belle are siblings…and Eve and Mako. Yeah…I think it would be fun. Can I be?"

At this, Bruce sort of collapsed from his knees into a sitting position on the floor, laughing weakly as he brushed several tears from his eyes. "Well, I guess my girls have outvoted me on this one. Looks like we'll just have to take the risk."

Betty and Shanta both hugged Bruce at this, and even though the poor scientist was a nervous wreck for the next eight months, at the end of it, Betty turned out to be right. They ended up with a perfectly healthy baby girl with absolutely no trace of gamma poisoning in her system. Bruce insisted Noelle have her mother's last name in order to minimize her connection to the dangers being associated with him posed, but all in all, he was just relieved that Noelle had dodged his genetic bullet.

**Jormungand**

Loki was much better prepared the second time he went into labor. He placed a mild sleeping spell on Hel and Fenrir so the sixteen-month-olds wouldn't be underfoot during the birth. It might not have even proven necessary in the end, though, because his third child was a much smoother labor. He delivered the baby boy into the world quite easily, holding him firmly against his bare chest before even bothering to bathe him.

"Jormungand," he said softly as he held the wriggling child. "My little Jory."

Like Hel, Jory was born with the blue skin of a frost giant, and contact with Loki couldn't seem to thaw him out. It wasn't until Fenrir was able to hold him that Jory's skin began to change, as had happened with Hel and Fenrir when they were born. Loki hadn't quite managed to admit it to himself, but by the time Jory was born, he was already starting to forget his plans for Ragnarok. Even though he had been ill got, Jory was one of the few things he truly wanted from his life, and his other grand schemes were already starting to fall by the wayside.

Loki meant to tell Hel and Fenrir who their fathers were. He would tell the twins everything about Steve and Bucky…but the identity of Jory's father was a secret he would keep to himself…his own hidden shame. To protect Jory, himself, and maybe even to protect the little boy's father…he would take that knowledge to the grave.

**Howard**

The Avengers were almost surprised when Pepper became pregnant a second time after the tribulations of her first pregnancy. Even more surprising, though, was how smoothly the second pregnancy went. It seemed that the Starks' second son had somehow managed to avoid inheriting the burning Extremis code. There was no trace of it in the DNA testing Sinthea performed throughout the pregnancy and the labor proceeded very smoothly.

Tony couldn't be sure what spiteful demon took a hold of him when his second son was born, but something prompted him to ask Pepper if she would be all right with naming their boy Howard. Pepper had eyed him strangely for a moment before allowing herself to smile, thinking that maybe the name choice was a step in the right direction.

"Yeah…that's a nice name. I'm fine with it. Howard…little Howie," she said softly, smiling as Howie latched onto her breast for his first meal.

"Heh…Howie Stark," Tony said, finding an amusing sort of irony in the name.

**Rosette**

Bruce didn't freak out quite as badly the second time Betty skipped her period; he just paced nervously every time Betty went in for a checkup with Sinthea. This time, though, about five months through the pregnancy, Sinthea gave her less than favorable news after running the blood work several times.

"I hate to have to tell you this, but…it looks like this girl _does_ have the same markers for the gamma alterations Bruce suffered."

"So…so there's a good chance…"

"That this baby might be able to go Hulk? Yes, I'd say there's a pretty good chance."

"Oh, God," Betty groaned, her face dropping into her hands. "What will I tell Bruce?"

"The truth, I hope. He'll get suspicious if he asks to see the records from my testing and I won't let him. Then he'll just get Tony to hack my files so he can see them that way. One way or another, he _will_ find out."

"Bruce would want me to get an abortion."

"Is that what _you_ want?" Sinthea pressed.

"_No,_" Betty snarled as she looked up at her friend. "I would _never_…kill Bruce's baby…even if he asked me to."

"Well, that's good, because I really can't think of a stupider course of action. In his concern for you, Bruce has clearly forgotten that no weapon yet known to humanity or Asgardian can kill a Hulk. If an abortion were attempted…and the child were to go Hulk in the womb…I shudder to think what might happen. There really is no going back from this point."

"There's that, at least. I guess…all we can really do is hope for the best."

She told herself that all the way back to Stark Tower, but it was harder to remember when she saw the heartbreak in Bruce's eyes.

Thankfully, Rosette was born without incident, but it was nearly a year before Bruce felt he could stop tiptoeing around his youngest daughter.

**Marian**

Phil Coulson and Maria Hill didn't think about the future very much. They lived in the here and now. As such, when Maria discovered she was pregnant, they took the news like they did most things in their lives…just kept soldiering on.

The couple pretty much lived together, even though they weren't married. Coulson technically had custody of Jarah, one of the children liberated from 2R, but they both took care of the young boy. There wasn't really any debate over how the child would be raised. They would tackle this challenge together. They were a team. There was only one argument they ever had in regards to their daughter.

What would the little girl's name be?

Coulson argued for Stephanie, but Maria argued just as hard against it. She didn't want her daughter to be named after Captain America. She didn't really want her daughter to be named after anyone. She wanted something that would allow the girl to forge her own path…something that would be just hers.

The two agents argued on the subject right up until Maria's water broke…and just as she was going into labor, Coulson was called away to help out a group of rookie agents who'd gotten themselves into a fire fight. Maria refused to give up her earpiece in the delivery room and continued to scream at her partner all the while. Phil Coulson, of course, continued to verbally spar with her, even while saving a bunch of rookie ass, and it was in this moment, caught between a battle with terrorists and a fight with his significant other, that the man had an epiphany. His earpiece was destroyed before he could tell Maria his idea, but he did manage to get back to the Helicarrier before she'd actually given birth.

"Marian!" Coulson shouted as he swept into the delivery room, falling to his knees beside Maria. "Her name should be Marian."

Maria had been about to continue her tirade, but then she'd heard the name he'd suggested…and actually found she liked it. Smirking, she reached out to squeeze his hand.

"Fine. I guess I _won't_ kill you in your sleep tonight for putting me through this. You actually came up with something good."

Marian was born only moments later.

**Fiona**

Unlike when her older brother was born, Mimir actually asked for permission to examine Fiona upon her birth…to see if she might be the child he had seen in his vision so many centuries ago…the child whose fate it was to be the death of Thor Odinson.

"She is not the one," he said quietly after holding the newborn for only a few minutes. "She does have some strength in her, though…a powerful magic."

"How do you mean?" Jane asked as the ancient sorcerer passed her daughter back to her.

"I could not say yet…but her way will not be made easy. Dark powers will covet this little princess. Freya Thordottir shall be tested…like the warriors of old."

"Mimir-" Thor started, his tone warning.

"If something's coming after her, then _I'll_ protect her," Balder insisted, moving to stand between the sorcerer and his mother and sister. Jane smiled at her son. At seven, he was already the de facto leader of the pack of Avengers children, and even though he was so young, he already shouldered a great deal of responsibility. If he already protected the other children as if they were his own siblings, then Fiona could have no greater protector than her own older brother.

"That's my boy," Thor said, patting Balder on the head. "Now, Uncle, if you've said all you need to say, I suggest you depart. Jane and Freya are tired and need their rest."

"As you wish, Nephew," the old Asgardian said before turning and leaving.

"Thor…what could it mean?" Jane asked, holding Fiona a little tighter against her breast.

"I couldn't begin to guess," Thor said, his face drawn as he sat down beside her. "But no matter what darkness threatens to do harm to our children…I will show them the true power of the lightning."

"I'll protect her, too, Mom. I'll help keep her safe," Balder said.

"I know you will, honey, and I'm very proud of you," she said, reaching out a hand to stroke his hair. The other thing that weighed on her mind was something they couldn't really discuss with their son in the room…the child who was destined to kill its father. Jane had worried almost constantly during her pregnancy that she was carrying that same child…and now that they had dodged a proverbial bullet yet again, she wasn't sure if she could _handle_ having any more children. What would happen if they _didn't_ have any more children? Was…was it possible for that fate to be avoided?

XxX


	2. Inconceivable

(A/N) Fair warning, these one shots won't necessarily be in chronological order. More like written as they come to me.

**A Life In the Day**

_Chapter 2: Inconceivable_

In retrospect, it seemed almost inevitable that the Avengers would start having movie nights, though they did have to be a little more careful about selections once the little ones came into the picture.

When their pack of children ranged in age from one to eight, it was discovered that they'd somehow been bad parents and not exposed their offspring to the glory that was _The Princess Bride_. All of the children were excited for the new movie…all except Russ.

"I don't want to watch a movie about a princess," the eight-year-old complained bitterly. "Princesses are stupid."

"Hey!" Noelle whined.

"Yeah, princesses can be a little old hat sometimes, but this one's a classic. I can pretty much guarantee you'll like it," Tony said to her, and because Russ and Tony tended to be like-minded, she decided to give it a chance…and was right up there with the Grandson inside of five minutes.

"Is this a kissing book?" young Fred Savage asked petulantly. Russ pointed at the screen, glaring around at the grownups.

"I'm with this kid."

"Wait. Just wait," her dad said with the Grandpa.

"Well, when does it get _good?_" Fred Savage demanded, as if speaking for Russ.

No one answered her, though. They all deferred to Peter Falk, and as the minutes flew by, Russ began to settle into the swing of the movie, as they had all known she would. By the end, all of the kids were quoting voraciously, well on their way to becoming Princess Bride junkies.

"Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togeva today," Russ and Phillip parroted together.

"Hello," Marian started as she hopped into her own father's lap. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"Inconceivable!" Chase chimed in.

"You keep using that word," Darcy joined in with her son. "I do not think it means what you think it means."

"Fezzik's my favorite," Rosie declared, rolling her head back to look up at Bruce. "He's just like you and me, Dad."

"Can we watch it again?" Howie asked.

"Maybe next weekend," Pepper said, getting up from the couch to pick up her six-year-old son. "Now it's time for all good little cubs to be in bed."

The kids all let out a collective whine, but allowed their parents to take them to their rooms. It wasn't long, though, before Phillip and Howie snuck into Russ' room with a laptop and the blu-ray of their new favorite movie. By the time Buttercup was trying to escape the shrieking eels, all of the other kids had also crept into Russ' room to watch, even Balder, the walking rulebook. That was how their parents found them the next morning, all asleep in a dog pile on Russ' bed with the laptop clutched securely in Phillip's arms.

XxX


	3. Backstreet's Back

**A Life In the Day**

_Chapter 3: Backstreet's Back_

It was well known among S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers that Darcy Lewis often engaged in what were commonly referred to as guilty pleasures…but without the guilt part. Darcy had zero sense of shame and her current indulgence was a nineties dance party

Darcy was cleaning up in the kitchen following lunch and she had her ipod playing all of her old nineties tunes. Using a pair of chopsticks as a microphone, she was rocking out to the tones of the Backstreet Boys between stacking dishes in the washer.

_Everybody, yeah._

_Rock your body, yeah._

_Everybody, yeah._

_Rock your body right._

_Backstreet's back, all right!_

_Oh, my God, we're back again._

_Brothers, sisters, everybody sing._

_Gonna bring the flavor, show you how._

_Gotta question for you, better answer now._

_Am I original?_

_Yeah._

_Am I the only one?_

_Yeah._

_Am I sexual?_

_Yeah._

_Am I everything you need?_

_You'd better rock your body now._

As Darcy rocked her body, she was joined by Clint, who had heard the music blaring. He smiled when he realized what he was hearing and immediately started to sing with her. Darcy pumped a fist in the air before placing the last dish in the washer and turning to Clint.

_Now throw your hands up in the air._

_Wave 'em around like you just don't care._

_If you wanna party, lemme hear you yell._

_Cuz we got it goin' on again._

_Am I original?_ Clint sang.

_Yeah,_ Darcy called back.

_Am I the only one?_

_Yeah._

_Am I sexual?_ Darcy picked up.

_Yeah,_ Clint fired back.

_Am I everything you need?_

_You'd better rock your body now._

And they did just that, rocking out hard to the nostalgic music right up until the end of the song, and the next one began with a bark of laughter and Scary Spice more shouting than singing.

_Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want._

_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want._

_I'll tell ya what I want, what I really, really want._

_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want._

_I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig, ha._

Neither agent had yet realized it, but they'd attracted an audience. Russ, Phillip, Chase, and Noelle had gathered outside of the kitchen and were watching the two adults rock out with looks of worry and confusion on their faces.

"What…the hell are they doing?" Russ murmured, looking slightly weirded out by the sight of her dad playing air guitar like a teenage boy.

"Should we…get the camera, maybe?" Phillip suggested lamely. His thirteen-year-old friend nodded vaguely, but no one actually made a move to go get the camera.

_If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends._

_Make it last forever, friendship never ends._

_If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give._

_Takin' is too easy, but that's the way it is._

"I think it looks like fun," Chase said, brushing the skeptics aside and bounding into the kitchen, dancing with his mother to the beat of Girl Power. When the Spice Girls had finished their turn, they were quickly followed by 'N Sync.

_Here it comes, Millennium,_

_And everybody's talkin' bout Jerusalem._

_Is this the beginning or beginning of the end?_

_Well, I've got other thoughts, my friend._

_See I've got my eyes on the skies,_

_The heavenly bodies up high._

_And if you're in the mood to take a ride,_

_Then strap on a suit and get inside._

Pretty soon, Rosie and Fiona came dashing into the kitchen, followed by Balder. Rosie would do anything loud and crazy and Fi, at seven, found everything fun. Darcy got Chase and Rosie into a loose dance circle and Clint lifted Fi onto his shoulders, dancing around with her.

_If you wanna fly, come and take a ride._

_Take a space ride with a cowboy, baby._

_Why-yi-yi-yippie-yi-yay-yippie-yi-yo-yippie-yi-yay ._

_Why-yi-yi-yippie-yi-yay-yippie-yi-yo-yippie-yi-yo. _

Noelle shrugged. "Well…if you can't beat 'em…" she said, going to join the dance party. Both Russ and Phillip continued to watch incredulously. Balder shook his head.

"Come on, you guys. They're just having fun."

"You actually approve of this?" Phillip asked, raising an eyebrow. "Parents dancing around to their weird old music."

"Yeah, because that Pixel Cut stuff you listen to is so much better," the older boy pointed out. "I don't really see what's wrong with it."

_Don't be afraid at all,_

_Cuz up in outer space there's no gravity to fall._

_Put your mind and your body to the test,_

_Cuz up in outer space is like the wild, wild west._

"Yeah, okay, let's go see what _your_ dad's doing," Russ said. "At least _he's_ not a dork."

"End the transmission," Darcy finished with the song. "They've had enough."

"Well," Clint started as the two kids headed away from the kitchen, "never thought I'd see the day when Tony Stark was the normal one."

XxX


	4. Let Me Hold Her

**A Life In the Day**

_Chapter 4: "Let Me Hold Her…"_

Zasha Ruslana Romanova screamed in frustration as she flung herself down on her bed.

"Didn't go well, I take it," Phillip said from where he was sitting at her desk.

The fourteen-year-old shook her head, her next words muffled by her pillow.

"Sorry. Didn't catch that."

Slowly, Russ looked up at her friend, her eyes bloodshot with the effort of not crying. "She says I'm not allowed back in R&D for a whole month…and she thinks Dad will agree with her when he gets back from Seoul."

"Probably true, though, in your defense, you couldn't have known there was an exposed wire."

"Don't you think I _tried_ telling her that? Uncle Bruce told her exactly what happened…and she's still grounding me."

Russ had been experimenting with one of her explosive concoctions in the lab and, of course, something had gone wrong. Really, the only reason she was still alive was that Bruce had been with her. Needless to say, her mother had been furious over the whole incident.

"She just…she doesn't _get_ it," Russ said, on the verge of sniffling. "This is a dangerous thing. Of _course_ things like this are going to happen. You can't let that stop you. The danger's not important."

"I think it's important to _her,_" Phillip pointed out, the default snark setting gone from his voice for once.

"Yes, because _her_ work isn't dangerous at all."

"That's different and you know it."

"Maybe so," Russ admitted. "But she still just…doesn't get me at all. She doesn't _care._"

Phillip's eyes narrowed at this. Then he stood from Russ' desk and held out his hand to her. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

For a moment, Russ looked like she might continue to argue, but she finally took the offered hand and let her friend lead her out of her room.

Phillip led Russ through several hallways in the tower before arriving at a locked door. When Phillip attempted to access it, JARVIS' voice came through the console.

"You are not authorized to access this terminal."

"Come on, JARVIS. Do we really want to go through the whole game of riddles today? We all know how this ends. I'm gonna bust my old man's codes and get what I want anyway. But let's not do that today. I need to show Russ something."

If AIs could sigh, Russ imagined JARVIS would have been. "As you wish. Welcome back, young sir."

"I've never been in this one before," Russ said as she looked around the terminal.

"This is the secure server where Dad keeps all his files on S.H.I.E.L.D. I only just broke the codes a few weeks ago…and I've been finding some pretty interesting stuff. We've got access to the 2R security recordings from the time your mom was captured by them."

Russ groaned. "Phillip, I already know the story about how I was born."

"That's just it. I don't think you do. I want you to see something I found, then tell me you know the story."

"Fine," Russ griped, plopping herself down in a chair.

"JARVIS, play the security feed from 2R cam 52, time stamp 8 A.M. December 21st, 2014."

"Yes, young sir."

At this, a holographic display lit up before the two, showing Natasha Romanoff on an operating table, surrounded by several doctors. She was making a clear effort not to scream as they cut into her.

"She's not properly sedated," Phillip explained. "This was done in a hurry. The rest of our parents are about to attack."

Russ remained silent as she witnessed her mother's supreme control of what must have surely been agony. She watched as the surgeons pulled her own tiny body from inside her mother's…saw how frail she'd been, how unlikely to survive…and she saw the look of exhausted rapture on Natasha Romanoff's face when she beheld her for the first time.

"Mom?" she whispered.

Something in her mother's eyes broke when they started to carry her away from her. Then her expression hardened into something fierce and enraged. Still open, still bleeding, Natasha seized a knife from the surgical tray and leapt to her feet, bringing the blade to the surgeon's back.

"Let me hold her," her mother demanded, keeping up a strong front, even though she was clearly about to collapse. "Let me hold her…just once."

Russ' eyes were locked on her mother as the surgeon passed her to her, warning her that she needed to be taken to intensive care.

"I know," Natasha said, shaking as she laid Russ against her breast, holding her close. "Just a moment…a moment…"

Zasha Romanova did not know her mother as a sentimental person. She knew the hard, disciplined woman who could bring nations to their knees. She did not often see the softness in her mother…but now, in this moment captured fourteen years ago, she saw only love…pure love, protectiveness, and adoration. In that moment, the baby in Natasha Romanoff's arms had clearly been the center of her world, and she would have done anything to protect her. Russ felt tears stinging at her eyes as she watched her mother gently kiss her forehead.

"I'll get you back," Natasha whispered. "I promise I will get you back," she finished, something in her expression breaking once more as she handed her daughter over to her enemies.

"Stop the feed, JARVIS," Phillip said softly. Once the playback had stopped, the two friends sat in silence for several minutes.

"I know you and your mom don't always see eye to eye…but can you really say she doesn't care about you after she went through all that?"

Slowly, Russ turned to look at her partner in crime, several tears streaking down her face. Smirking slightly, she said, "I guess I was wrong about you, Phillip Stark. You're not a complete ass. Where did I go wrong?"

Phillip shrugged. "Hey, what's a partner for, if not to dig up gory home movies on a rainy day?"

Russ punched him lightly on the shoulder before hugging him. Once they'd sealed up the terminal, Russ went in search of her mother again.

Natasha was in the tower's underground shooting range practicing when Russ found her, and she was clearly still angry, but Russ found that she herself was different now.

Her mom noticed her right away, seeing the tears on her face, but seeing a different meaning in them.

"I hope you aren't here to negotiate," she said as she pulled off her protective headphones. "Because you are still in deep, little miss."

"No…no…nothing like that. I just wanted to…apologize."

Natasha blinked several times. "Excuse me?"

"You said…I would understand someday. I think I understand _now_. I didn't…realize what it must have been like for you…when I was born."

Confusion immediately clouded the Black Widow's eyes at this. "Zasha, what are you-"

"You _suffered_ for me…and I've never appreciated that."

"How do you know that?" Natasha asked, setting aside her weapon and moving toward her daughter.

"Phillip…showed me the security recordings from the day I was born."

Her mother sighed. "I would have rather you'd not seen that until you were older, but if you-"

"Mom, I'm sorry!" Russ burst out, throwing her arms around her mother. "You risked everything for me…and I told you I didn't care if I threw it all away. I'm sorry I put myself in danger."

"Oh, Zash," her mother tried to soothe her, holding her close and stroking her hair. "It's not wrong…that you feel so strongly about it…but it's true that I wish you weren't so reckless. I nearly lost you…so many times…when I was pregnant with you…and then they tried to take you from me. Your dad and I…we couldn't handle it if we lost you to something like an overlooked wire. You're the best of both of us…and you can't go before us. There will never be another you in this world. You're too precious to waste on a mistake."

"I'm sorry," Russ repeated, clinging to her mother. "I promise I'll be more careful."

Natasha laughed quietly, feeling her throat tighten as she fought against her own tears. "You _are_ still grounded, you know."

Russ smiled up at her mother, even though there were still tears dripping down her face. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

XxX


End file.
